MEDICAL COLLEGES IN PAKISTAN

[doc74]

AGHA KHAN MEDICAL COLLEGE,KARACHI
ALLAMA IQBAL MEDICAL COLLEGE ,LAHORE
BAQAI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY ,KARACHI
BOLAN MEDICAL COLLEGE,QUETTA
CHANDKA MEDICAL COLLEGE
DOW MEDICAL COLLEGE,KARACHI
FATIMA JINNAH MEDICAL COLLEGE ,LAHORE
KING EDWARD MEDICAL COLLEGE ,LAHORE
KARACHI MEDICAL & DENTAL COLLEGE,KARACHI
kHYBER MEDICAL COLLEGE ,PESHAWAR
LIAQAT MEDICAL UNIVERSITY,JAMSHORO
NISHTAR MEDICAL COLLEGE ,MULTAN
PEOPLES MEDICAL COLLEGE ,NAWABSHAH
PUNJAB MEDICAL COLLEGE ,FAISAL ABAD
QUAIDE AZAM MEDICAL COLLEGE ,BAHAWALPUR
RAWALPINDI MEDICAL COLLEGE
SIND MEDICAL COLLEGE,KARACHI
ZIAUUDDIN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

[doc04]

thankyou for posting all the school listing in Pakistan.

[medboi80]

heard theres a new school in islamabad, shifa medical college,,,heard its similar to us medical schools....just got approved by the who and ecfmg last year,,,,,im considering that school.

[doc04]

heard theres a new school in islamabad, shifa medical college,,,heard its similar to us medical schools....just got approved by the who and ecfmg last year,,,,,im considering that school.
do you have any website for that particular school?
r u in pakistan?

[azskeptic]

heard theres a new school in islamabad, shifa medical college,,,heard its similar to us medical schools....just got approved by the who and ecfmg last year,,,,,im considering that school.
do you have any website for that particular school?
r u in pakistan?

all pakistan schools and websites are at FAIMER's list of recognized Pakistan schools

http://imed.ecfmg.org/results.asp?country=704&school=&currpage=1&cname=PAKISTAN&city=&region=AS&rname=Asia&psize=25

[medboi80]

the website is http://www.shifacollege.edu/ im in new jersey right now, the owners of that school used to live in new jersey, they are our family friends. i went to check out that school back in 1999, but it was not recognized back then,,,the school is really hi-tech,,,,the buildings are nice,, way better than its neighbor, rawalpindi medical college, the only thing that troubles me is that its 5 years and you gotta do clinicals in pakistan, if i was just out of high school i would go there but now after completing college, i rather go to a 4 year medical college with clinicals in the states.

[ubaidrkhan23]

I'm presently a senior in high school in the US, and will be applying to Medical college in Pakistan in 2005. My primary choices are either DOW or AKU, and I wanted to know what the major differences and similarities are between the two colleges. I would also like to know if DOW provides clinicals in the US. Opinions about the eductaional quality of DOW from DOW students would also be appreciated.
Thank You

[sagitarian79]

dow medical college is government owned medical college and is consider to be best among all government run medical college now it has been given university status this year (DOW UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCE DUHS new name )in pakistan if u r applying as pakistan citizen then dow is first choice as government subsidize fees so we dont have to pay huge amount of fees and most ppl get scholarship and as government owned hospital cater general population thats why lots and lots of patient and students r approx 300 as far as aku is concerned it is privately owned so if some pakistani have to apply he or she has to pay huge bucks and the patient r elite other wise aku is consider to be finest ,high tech, clean and one of the best institution among south asia ... so if u r applying as foreigner then aku should be first priority other private institution r also there like baqai , ziauddin, hamdard but aku is best among them ..students mostly ranges from 50 -80

[DrMuscles]

I am a 2nd year AKU medical student.

I dont think you can compare AKU with DOW. :lol: 8) :?

AKU has standards comparable to the US, and the USMLE pass rate is 100%.

[sagitarian79]

still dow is consider to be best among general population and most of the students pay less in 5 years then wat u pay in a single month so most of the student cant afford usmle fees they have to wait untill they can earn that much as far as pass percentage concerned and marks r do u know how high they score in usmle and other exams ....

[ubaidrkhan23]

Do any of you know how many DOW students go to US after graduating and how well they actually do on USMLE. I know AKU is better by the way.....i just wanna know more about my second option. Also, I've heard AKU goes pretty easy on international students during admission ...... Is that true? those of you who know international students at AKU please reply. :D

[ubaidrkhan23]

I've heard DOW has Clinicals in the US....Baylor Med I think. Is this true?

[DrMuscles]

Do any of you know how many DOW students go to US after graduating and how well they actually do on USMLE. I know AKU is better by the way.....i just wanna know more about my second option. Also, I've heard AKU goes pretty easy on international students during admission ...... Is that true? those of you who know international students at AKU please reply. :D

I heard DOW med students do crap on the USMLE.

Anyways, I'm a US citizen who applied to AKU. And you're right. It's pretty easy to get in as a foreigner as compared to a native Pakistani (which is next to impossible).

And btw, AKU has clinicals in America as well. Just not all of them. Only like two months per year or so. IT's called "getting an elective" (in fob talk).

DOW is the same, I believe...although they have a much harder time getting electives than AKU students who easily get them at Harvard and Baylor.

[ubaidrkhan23]

Dr. Muscles,
It's good to know that I'm getting information from someone who has been is in similar situation as mine. I am also a US citizen and wish to apply to Med school in Pak. wht are these IT electives you were talking about....wht units do they cover in the 2 month clinicla ex.cardiology, pediatrics.
Thank u sooo much for your help and i will be looking forward to your reply.
P.S. My Bro went to Baquai and got 90 and 93 on USMLE and i know a DOWITE who got a 99 on USMLE, but i guess they are the select few.

[veer786zaara]

Thanks for posting all the med. schools listing in pakitan.

I also wanted to know if they are english med. schools meaning they only have english everything like i dont want islamyat becasue i cant write urdu and also cant read it. I can talk in urdu but i was looking for the schools that english. t
thanks anyways bye

[armada13]

how hard is the interview process at aga khan? otherwise an MCAT score over 30 and applying as an international student is enough to get me in?

[armada13]

btw, i have had some close relatives at dow who all passed the USMLE with ease. the latest said all of her friends did as well. i don't think the USMLE is to be feared or hyped as much as it is, just do your best.

[ubaidrkhan23]

I've heard from someone who applied to AKU as foreign student who had fullfilled all the academic requirements said that the interview portion was very easy(heard they talked about how it was like living in the US during the interview....lol). I know this is a bit personal but if your able to get over 30 on MCAT & which obviously makes u a college student who has completed his required courses needed to do well on MCAT then why don't you try applying to the many carribean med schools, many of which don't even require the 90 credit requirement but accept ppl on a person to person bases. Pretty much all these schools have all their clinicals in US instead of the limited amount of US clincals offered at AKU and DOW(2 month clinclas a year i've heard). I would rather take this alternative but that would mean I would have to spend 1 or 1-1/2 doing the college-MCAT process but if your all set with that then Carribean might be a better alternative.
And as u might have read in the previous post that my bro from Baquai got 93-90 on USMLE and i know someone from DOW who got 99 on part 1 so i think dr.muscles comment about DOW students is a bit harsh but AKU students obviously have a much easier time with USMLE then other pak schools. Also, keep in mind that AKU tution is $96,000 dollars all together.
P.S. If u could follow up on this post that would be great & good luck.

[ubaidrkhan23]

Well about the eng. thing i think u can actually look up what lang the cirriculum is given in each med school at the IMED site. From what i've heard, AKU denitely dosent have islamiat classes but other colleges such as DOW give it as electives meaning u can take another easy course instead of that, ofcourse pak students would rather prefer islamiat since it's very easy for them. I think every Pak school on the IMED-ECFMG list will have their cirriculum in eng since it wouldn't make sense for them to be approved by ECFMG if students are not even learning the material in english apparently the lang USMLE is given in....lol.
[/quote]

[sam212]

how hard is the interview process at aga khan? otherwise an MCAT score over 30 and applying as an international student is enough to get me in?

I don't get it, scoring more than 30 would easily get you into an American medical school, if not MD than atleast DO. I suppose your ultimate goal is to practice as a physician in United States. Why not go to an American school and take advantage of opportunities that will be given to you? Careerwise, you will have a lot more specialities to explore than you would coming as an FMG. I don't care even if you score in high 90's, it is still very hard for FMG's to get top residencies. On top of that, you will escape from the stigma of being a FMG. In addition, there is reasonable chance you don't get a spot in residency at all. Therefore, I suggest that you do yourself a favor and apply to American schools and don't limit yourself to primary care. With a score of more than 30 and a reasonable GPA, you should be able to earn a spot in an American school. Sorry if anything sounded harsh.

[doc74]

If you want to study in pakistan than for private education AKU is best & if u want to save money than either DMC or KEMC is the best choice but i do agree with the above post about FMGs.So if u have no money problems than better to go to a US medical school.The medium of teaching in all Medical colleges in Pakistan is English

[ubaidrkhan23]

FMG's do get good residencies, alothough i admit there are certain specialties which are very hard for an FMG to get into but overall if they do well on USMLE's and other exams they will remain competitive enough to get into good positions. Also you have to take into account that most FMG's aren't US citizens which is probably the bigger issue for them not to get good spots, but as for myself and i'm predicting armada13 are US citizens. By the way i have many relatives who are FMG's and they are doing great here since they are getting the grades. I actually suggested that Armada should try carribean med's but i guess she has other obligations. Ask for me, i'm considering going there because i can get into med right after high school. ALOT MONEY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TIME* IS SAVED.
P.S. any of yall heard about albion med?

[dr.bum]

Can Kafirs apply to these schools?

[ubaidrkhan23]

if u mean non-muslim then yes....my bro said he knew a few white ppl at Baquai. Also i heard that more americans are going there now.

[sam212]

FMG's do get good residencies, alothough i admit there are certain specialties which are very hard for an FMG to get into but overall if they do well on USMLE's and other exams they will remain competitive enough to get into good positions. Also you have to take into account that most FMG's aren't US citizens which is probably the bigger issue for them not to get good spots, but as for myself and i'm predicting armada13 are US citizens. By the way i have many relatives who are FMG's and they are doing great here since they are getting the grades. I actually suggested that Armada should try carribean med's but i guess she has other obligations. Ask for me, i'm considering going there because i can get into med right after high school. ALOT MONEY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TIME* IS SAVED.
P.S. any of yall heard about albion med?
I, by no means, dislike IMG's, if I did, I woudn't have been here. I think foreign medical route should only be chosen if one has failed to get an acceptence in American school. Let me tell you what, you talk about saving time, I have two cousins who both went to DOW right after highschool. Both graduated in 2001 from DOW but it took them two years to pass USMLE's and both just started residencies in last july. They both scored in mid 80's percentage-wise in boards, but one matched in family practice and other in IM. I would also mention that they both applied in mid-competitive residencies (Anesthesia, EM) but didn't even get an interview. You can draw your conclusions from this. I wish you good luck in pursuing your academic goals, and Aga Khan is a better school than DOW, but just keep in back of your head that it may bite you in the rear.

[ubaidrkhan23]

Well like I said before, if you get the grades you'll remain competitive, i'm not suggesting that internationals will be on the same scale as the american grads, obviously there not- it's a known fact. What i am saying though is that just because some one is an international grad doesn’t mean that they are automatically excluded competitive fields. For example- a relative of mine from DOW did his USMLE's in one year got 99 on step 1 and landed a residency at henry ford and now is going on to nephrology . My brother got 93 and 91 USMLE and was offered residency by many hospitals eventually going to Tennessee(both these ppl are not residents or citizens of US by the way). If u go on AKU's web site you'll see many of their grad's got in to great fields. I have to admit as i did in my last message that international students regardless of how well they do in exams will have an extremely tuff time in fields such as ENT but they still have a good shot in other good fields. And i guess thats the price you pay for SAVING TIME which international grads relly can - it just depends on how fast the person can get done with all the examinations. Like i said in my last message i'm still just considering going there thats why i understand where your coming from with this because i also think of the cons of internationally doing med skool and excuse me if i was a little too bias but i'm just trying to make a point. By the way, what are your plans for doinf med?
P.S. I know AKU is better than DOW....why did u bring tht up though?

[sam212]

Well like I said before, if you get the grades you'll remain competitive, i'm not suggesting that internationals will be on the same scale as the american grads, obviously there not- it's a known fact. What i am saying though is that just because some one is an international grad doesn’t mean that they are automatically excluded competitive fields. For example- a relative of mine from DOW did his USMLE's in one year got 99 on step 1 and landed a residency at henry ford and now is going on to nephrology . My brother got 93 and 91 USMLE and was offered residency by many hospitals eventually going to Tennessee(both these ppl are not residents or citizens of US by the way). If u go on AKU's web site you'll see many of their grad's got in to great fields. I have to admit as i did in my last message that international students regardless of how well they do in exams will have an extremely tuff time in fields such as ENT but they still have a good shot in other good fields. And i guess thats the price you pay for SAVING TIME which international grads relly can - it just depends on how fast the person can get done with all the examinations. Like i said in my last message i'm still just considering going there thats why i understand where your coming from with this because i also think of the cons of internationally doing med skool and excuse me if i was a little too bias but i'm just trying to make a point. By the way, what are your plans for doinf med?
P.S. I know AKU is better than DOW....why did u bring tht up though?
I just mentioned that AKU is better because you may have a better shot of getting a good residency from AKU than DOW. The problem with DOW is that they stick with Pakistani cirriculum, which makes outsiders to pass USMLE tougher. Other than that, I was just merely explaining some cons, obviously there are pros as well such as being able to practice medicine in US regardless of any field. It is good that you are aware of both pros and cons and making a good educated decision.
As for me, I am a lowly undergrad in Loyola University in Chicago, currently a junior. I was a business major till my junior year (by the way I still am) so my GPA is good, but it's on the downside ever since I started this pre-med thing. Hopefully I'd be able to keep it just enough to get into a US school, if not I will look into Caribbean. I can't go to pakistan anymore because I have already completed significant amount of time in colege here. And it doesn;t matter to me whether MD or DO as long as I get in somewhere. I am a little paranoid about caribbean schools as well and will not attend any other caribbean school out of SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba, and St. Matts. If this medical school thing doesn't work out, I am probably gonna do something with my finance degree.

[ubaidrkhan23]

HEllo,
I've already applied to AKU which was very simple.
I'm also applying to DOW which I'm having a hard time doing since there application process is much more complictaed and there are no resources avalible on their new website. If u guys can help me out here tht be great!
P.S. appling as overseas/foreign student.
bye

[ghazirizvi]

Hey, in order to apply to DOW go to this website http://www.sindhhealth.gov.pk/admission.htm

or most importantly check the consulate website for application

P.S. Is Aga Khan only better than DOW because its graduates do better on USMLE[/img]

[sk123usa]

Hello everyone,
I am totally new to this site, been doing a lot of reading and everyone seems really helpful. I do have a question at this time:

Does anyone know if it is possible to gain entry into a Pakistani med school if you are over 25 years old? I've heard that PMDC which regulates all med schools in Pakistan imposes that a student should be less than 25 y.o.
Is there a way around this requirement?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!!!

[ghazirizvi]

try aga khan it has no restrictions on age but the admissions committee has been reluctunt to admit too old or too young applicants. But aga khan has no qoutas so i am sure u will get in. Plus it is one of the best schools in pakistan. good luck.

Aga Khan: http://www.aku.edu/medicalcollege/admissions/mbbsinfo.shtml

[woodbridgesp]

i'd suggest going to a country where you might not get shot

[sk123usa]

Thanks for suggesting Aga Khan, but the following is taken from their web site:

"Under its Charter, Aga Khan University is open to all academically qualified candidates of either gender, regardless of religion, race, creed, colour or domicile and no such person shall be denied the privileges of the University on the grounds of sex, religion, creed, race, class, colour or domicile. "

NOTICE THE PRECEEDING DOES NOT MAKE MENTION THAT THEY WILL NOT EXCLUDE ON THE BASIS OF AGE.

Also, the following is another paragraph on the same web page:

"The requirements of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for admission to the medical colleges must be met by all applicants. These include pre‑medical qualifications with certified documentary evidence."

Since I believe the age restriction is imposed by PMDC, and not by individual med schools, the preceeding obviously indicates that even Aga Khan med school has to abide by all the requirements imposed by PMDC. So it appears that I am out of luck as far as a Pakistani med school goes.

Here is what I have a problem with is this: When I am willing to spend my perfectly good hard earned US dollars in a country that obviously needs foreign exchange, why do the Pakistani beaureucrats have such restrictions??????????
OR
Is there an exception to the rule for someone who only wants to study as a foreign student and depart after the studies conclude??

I personally much rather blow tons of money in Pakistan rather than in a school only setup as a business venture to make money, IMHO!

By the way I have written to the minister of Education in PK, PMDC, and even the Pakistani ambassador in US to no avail, so far.

[sk123usa]

from too quick to reply :)

ghazirizvi,
I do see where the web site mentions exactly what you wrote about age.....Perhaps I do have hope after all.
:)

[RehanSAlvi]

Hi,

I'm a US Citizen (born and raised in California) who's a 3rd year at the Shifa College of Medicine in Islamabad. I've found it to be an overall wonderful experience and would readily recommend Shifa to other Americans seeking to become a doctor via the Pakistan route.

As far as electives are concerned, Shifa students have done electives everywhere from the top universities in the US to Pakistani places as well (mostly Aga Khan's hospital).

If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on AIM at NeuroCide5.

-Rehan

[pitstar]

i'd suggest going to a country where you might not get shot

Oh, we won't get shot in the US. Not.

[woodbridgesp]

are you serious? you actually responded by saying 'shot in the us'. if you don't realize what a developed country is with a stable government and social structure, i suggest that medicine might not be the right career path for you.......................

if at all possible, you should go to a school where crime and a political climate and situation are low and stable............i guess that must be above your head though...........

[ghazirizvi]

To sk123usa,

Sorry i couldnt reply sooner, i have been busy. Good Luck with your application and i hope you get in :)

Best Regards,

Ghazi

[MDhero]

i think attending medical college in pakistan is a great idea especially for people of pakistani heritage, as myself. the education is great and you wont lead into licensing problems as most caribbean medical schools. i would go to pakistan for studies in a heart-beat if i was fresh out of high school. after completing 4 and half years in an american university, it would be a better time-saver to go to a good caribbean medical school. 5 and half year curriculum in pakistan plus a year (atleast) time studying for usmle 1 & 2 would take too much time.

[sara00]

hi there, I'm a canadian citizen (whats the matter I dont see any canadians..all americans..lol) Anyways, my question is...which one is better Caribbean Medical schools or Pakistani medical schools? cuz I'm kinda confused dont know where to go, well I dont want to get my BSc cuz that's just a waste of time...want to go straight in med school. Anyone, feel free to reply, thanks!

[ubaidrkhan23]

hey there sara,
If u don't wanna do undergrad and go straight into med after HS then your only option is pak med except for a few unknown carrib skool who take HS grads but they r not sure to have licensure, but if wanna go through with undergrad (not doing science major) then carrib is obviously the better option. It's probably the best thing if u don't do undergrad in science becuz if u pull of a good gpa in other majors then u might even have a shot in canadian med and will be able to get into carrib skolls easily. Most carrib skools cirriculum is based on USMLE's so your not wasting time after u grad from med skool to complete your mle's and also they offer clinicals in US. But if time is off the essence to u then pak skools will get u an MD or MBBS as they say in pak in 5 years - 1 more year for MLE's.

HOpe this helped
BYE

[MDhero]

hii sara,
i think if you are currently a senior in high school, you should go to pakistan. its only 5 and half years (plus a year studying for usmles) and the education in pakistan is really good and its really way cheaper than caribbean medical schools. if you dont think you can live in pakistan for 5+ years and you would like to do your clinicals in the states, you should complete 90 credits in any college/university and apply to a good caribbean medical school. by saying a good caribbean medical school, i mean a medical school with licensed graduates and school approved in atleast 40 states, such as st georges, saba, auc, ross, or st matthews. with 90 credits (3 years of college) you can still save time, 7 years of school after high school....where studyin in pakistan would be 6 years of school after high school (including studying for the usmles). at the end of the day you'll still be a foreign graduate...you should really think whats best for you and go where you think you will be happier. going to a good caribbean medical school and going to pakistan for medical school are both really good ideas, i think it'll be best if you visit the school before you make your decision.

[ubaidrkhan23]

Carrib skools teach u what need to know for the MLE, format and everything(atleast the good ones do)

And doing clincals in US (1/2 your medical skool education) is a BIG PLUS so carrib skools are actually better then pak skools.....

[sara00]

thanks for the reply,
but let say if get my MD from the Caribbean schools, would i be consider foreign? or American doc? And there some Caribbean schools that take students right from HS such as Xavier, All saints, etc... r they not licenced? Also u guys are all in pak med school? lets say if I go to Lahore isnt that better?

[RehanSAlvi]

Sara,

If you graduate from the Carribbean schools, you are still considered an IMG (International Medical Graduate) and would have to go through the exact same procedure as a Pakistani graduate would have to.

I haven't heard about the Carribbean schools that take students straight out of high school, but I know that all the ones that are pretty well known for their quality require you to have a bachelor's degree first. You probably would want to check with them regarding their licensing status and all that.

Yeah, I do go to Pakistan med school...I'm in my third year at Shifa School of Medicine in Islamabad. There are a lot of other Americans at Shifa so the entire getting adjusted and what not was a lot easier than for some of my friends who went to the government schools.

Take care! And if you have any more questions, feel free to IM me at Neurocide5.

-Rehan
http://www.rehanalvi.com

[ubaidrkhan23]

Hey,
Carrib grads are considered foreign and i believe pak skools are international, not queit sure wht the diff is but carribs are better so i guess thts one criteria u can put them under. Refer to my 1st mesage abt this topic, i said those carrib skools who take in HS studenst aren't guarented to have licensure such as Xavier which is a very new skool in which no one has yet to actually get licensure in the US so wouldn't wanna take tht risk with those kinda skools. By the way right out of HS will be 6 years in carrib so u rather just spend a year or 2 more and get into good med university which has had thousands of licensed grads.
I'm a HS student myself by the way.....
going to Lahore which i think u mean going to king edwards med would be good but AKU then dow should be your top options, plus i'm not very fond of lahore.
See ya ltr

[sara00]

thank you everyone for all ur help, Khan, if u dont mind what are u planning to do after HS and why? Also I never been to caribbean islands so I have no idea how well they are but I do know that Pak med schools are pretty good.

[MDhero]

thanks for the reply,
but let say if get my MD from the Caribbean schools, would i be consider foreign? or American doc? And there some Caribbean schools that take students right from HS such as Xavier, All saints, etc... r they not licenced? Also u guys are all in pak med school? lets say if I go to Lahore isnt that better?

yes, graduating from a caribbean medical school would make you a foreign medical graduate. going to a medical school such as xavier and all saints is like throwing your money down the toilet. they have no licensed graduates and no track record. why take such a risk? if you are considering a caribbean medical school i would suggest going to:
st georges university, ross university, saba university, american university of the caribbeans, or st matthews university. they're the only caribbean medical school with licensed graduates and are approved in atleast 45 states and in canada.

[Siddman]

thanks for the reply,
but let say if get my MD from the Caribbean schools, would i be consider foreign? or American doc? And there some Caribbean schools that take students right from HS such as Xavier, All saints, etc... r they not licenced? Also u guys are all in pak med school? lets say if I go to Lahore isnt that better?

yes, graduating from a caribbean medical school would make you a foreign medical graduate. going to a medical school such as xavier and all saints is like throwing your money down the toilet. they have no licensed graduates and no track record. why take such a risk? if you are considering a caribbean medical school i would suggest going to:
st georges university, ross university, saba university, american university of the caribbeans, or st matthews university. they're the only caribbean medical school with licensed graduates and are approved in atleast 45 states and in canada.

I totally agree.....


Siddman

[Siddman]

thanks for the reply,
but let say if get my MD from the Caribbean schools, would i be consider foreign? or American doc? And there some Caribbean schools that take students right from HS such as Xavier, All saints, etc... r they not licenced? Also u guys are all in pak med school? lets say if I go to Lahore isnt that better?

RehanSAlvi answered it all but just to add a few thing....going for an MBBS after completing 4 years of basic science is not worth it...because MBBS is like from 5 to 6 years depending on your medical school. But MD from caribbean is like 4 years and you get a MD degree. Now if its about money then i would say go to pakistan which is way cheaper but Aga Khan is as expensive as the top 4 caribbean schools.

Hope this helps,

Siddman

[RehanSAlvi]

I agree with Siddman, coming to a Pakistani med school after doing a 4 year bachelors degree is not worth it. You're better off going to the Caribbean. However, if you're coming straight out of high school, or you've done less than half of your bachelors degree in college, I think the Pakistani route is definitely worth it.

Pakistani doctors are renowned the world over for their amazing clinical skills and the amount of experience they receive due to the fact that they on average see more patients in their training than their US counterparts.

[sara00]

I see....good opinions! very helpful

[madness]

i'm a final yr medical student from Aga Khan who came right after doing HS in the US.... i thought i'd just give my 2 cents too.


i agree w/ siddman and rehan.... its worth it to come to Pakistan from HS but is not a good idea if you have completed your 4 yrs premedical.

there was a post on the age issue.... to answer that i would say for aku atleast do not worry about the age... i do know students in aku who come after doing a few yrs in college and even after their bachelor's degree. i'm not too sure about the gov colleges but at aku u would not have to worry about any pmdc "restrictions" for age if there are any.

another thing i'd like ppl to know is that when comparing pakistan to the US do not think its 5 yrs versus 8 yrs. By the time the 5th yr finishes and start residency ITS AS IF YOU WENT TO A 7 YR program.... i really would like to emphasize this b/c ppl don't seem to realize that. the advantage then of coming to aku or any other college in pakistan is then not the time (u save maximum 1 yr) but the $$$. although at aku there is a high fee for int'l students, there are ways into getting the administration to believe that u r a local and pay local fee (its wrong but many have done it ). the other obvious advantage is that once you get in, u'll graduate w/ a med degree (there's no issue of pre-med/mcat, etc).

also, someone stated that aku has clinicals in the US.... aku allows 3 months in their final year to do electives in the US.... these can be rotations in any field of choice.. also u can come during the summer breaks for extra few months but its difficult to get clinical electives then and ppl usually just try for research work.

i don't know much about the caribbean system but i think if u've completed undergrad then go for caribb (if money is not an issue) assuming that you can graduate AND start residency w/i 4 yrs. but when picking PLZ pick a place that has a track record of getting students in the US.... many of these places in the caribb are known money making institution that do false advertisement.... do NOT pick a med school that started w/i a few yrs because i do know of ppl that went to such schools and a couple years after that they found out they're school was shutting down.... so if u don't get accepted to a decent caribbean school, rather than going to crappy caribbean school, i would suggest going to schools in pakistan which are relatively easy to get into and have graduates in the US (such as baqai, etc)

lastly, i think its imp to keep in mind that for foreing medical graduates, it is much tougher if not impossible to get residencies in competitive fields like ENT, ophthalmology, derma, radiology, surgery, neurosurg, etc even currently graduates from aku do get residencies in competitive fields but only after a a few yrs of research after medical school... and as a result they start residency 4-5 yrs after graduating.

[brownsahib]

IS it too late to apply to AKU for this year. :oops:

[ubaidrkhan23]

Application for AKU were due in March
Sorry Brown maybe u can apply nex year....

[brownsahib]

does any one know if hamdard university asks for a entry test for overseas students like the SAT 2 etc

[ubaidrkhan23]

Doubt Hamdard needs all that... there not exactly AKU standard.
I could be wrong so u might wanna check there website.

[dan101]

Hi... it's quite nice seeing a discussion regarding medical colleges in Pakistan... I have applied to AKU. My high school grades were extremely high but i still have to give a sat exam. I'm sort of nervous about it, knowing that they have changed the sat to "New Sat":

I would just like to know from any current or former AKU student that how exactly a foreign student gets evaluated and what are the chances of overseas candidates getting in? ...Do they really focus on Sat Scores and make it a determining factor? By the way i m in canada and currenlty enrolled in UBC. I tried convicing those guys that canadians don't follow SATS to get admission to unverisities or colleges... but they won't budge...

Any sort of info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[shazi11]

i just thought i would let all those who are thinking about applying to med school in pakistan know that its not as great as it sounds, especially if you are female and have lived in the U.S. your whole life. i went to a government college in karachi and it was really hard. The weather was horrible, the food sucked, the living conditions couldn't have been worse, plus most of the teachers hated the american students. So if you can get into a private school like baqai or AKU then it might be worth it but if not you are better of going to school in the U.S. or carribean.

[sara00]

i just thought i would let all those who are thinking about applying to med school in pakistan know that its not as great as it sounds, especially if you are female and have lived in the U.S. your whole life. i went to a government college in karachi and it was really hard. The weather was horrible, the food sucked, the living conditions couldn't have been worse, plus most of the teachers hated the american students. So if you can get into a private school like baqai or AKU then it might be worth it but if not you are better of going to school in the U.S. or carribean.

It’s true Pakistani environment are very different than North American but I’m sure student will get use to it. I know the heat is crazy, “machar” every where, salty water, and the list goes on…but over time students will learn to adapt to the environment. That’s how humans are…

The only reason students apply to pak med schools is because they know that when they’ll graduate, they’ll become good doctors. Where as if you study in US/Can, first you need to get your BSc ..right..and only then you can apply to med schools but the problem with this process is that many don’t make it to med schools even with really high GPA. In other words, you end up no where...Students who study in US/Can they all have one dream in common… to become a good DOCTOR, but many don’t make it…

I know its really hard for someone who has grew up in North America and has to go and live down in pak , even when I went just to visit I got really sick but going to a pak med school is worth it at the end! It’s true teachers don’t like US/Can students but its up to us to show them that we are as good as any Pakistani student! And Caribbean schools is only good if you did your BSc. Sometimes we have to struggle in life to accomplish something but we should always look at the final product… :wink:

[shazi11]

i just thought i would let all those who are thinking about applying to med school in pakistan know that its not as great as it sounds, especially if you are female and have lived in the U.S. your whole life. i went to a government college in karachi and it was really hard. The weather was horrible, the food sucked, the living conditions couldn't have been worse, plus most of the teachers hated the american students. So if you can get into a private school like baqai or AKU then it might be worth it but if not you are better of going to school in the U.S. or carribean.

It’s true Pakistani environment are very different than North American but I’m sure student will get use to it. I know the heat is crazy, “machar” every where, salty water, and the list goes on…but over time students will learn to adapt to the environment. That’s how humans are…

The only reason students apply to pak med schools is because they know that when they’ll graduate, they’ll become good doctors. Where as if you study in US/Can, first you need to get your BSc ..right..and only then you can apply to med schools but the problem with this process is that many don’t make it to med schools even with really high GPA. In other words, you end up no where...Students who study in US/Can they all have one dream in common… to become a good DOCTOR, but many don’t make it…

I know its really hard for someone who has grew up in North America and has to go and live down in pak , even when I went just to visit I got really sick but going to a pak med school is worth it at the end! It’s true teachers don’t like US/Can students but its up to us to show them that we are as good as any Pakistani student! And Caribbean schools is only good if you did your BSc. Sometimes we have to struggle in life to accomplish something but we should always look at the final product… :wink:

its very easy to say all this but in reality life for a foreign student in a government medical college in pakistan is hell....and i'm not the only one that feels this way. Students in AKU and Baqai don't have half the problems that we faced. and as far as you saying that students go to pakistan to become "GOOD DOCTORS" well there were lots of students in pakistan that never picked up a book. i think you have no idea what goes on over there......visiting pakistan is one thing but going to med school and living there is a whole different story. so i guess if you can put up with the sucky weather, the racist teachers, the fact that there is no electricity most of the day, having an upset stomach all the time because of the food, students hating you because you have an american passport, and you can still study and become a "GOOD DOCTOR" then you are ready to go to pakistan for med school.

[sara00]

To shazi,
:) ....you sure hated living down there...but I know some students down in Lahore and Rawalpindi and they told me its not as bad as your making it sound, infact they are happy down there but sometimes the weather is too hot and some of the material is a little too hard. Something that I don't understand, your saying how some students dont even touch their books then how exactly do they pass? :?

[shazi11]

To shazi,
:) ....you sure hated living down there...but I know some students down in Lahore and Rawalpindi and they told me its not as bad as your making it sound, infact they are happy down there but sometimes the weather is too hot and some of the material is a little too hard. Something that I don't understand, your saying how some students dont even touch their books then how exactly do they pass? :?

well thats why i said that visiting pakistan and going to school there are two totally different things.....how students pass without studying along with hundreds of other things that will amaze you is something you find out when you actually go to school there..... :roll:

[sara00]

just great!....oh man I was like 100% sure of going down there ...now talking to u and listen to u, thanks to u....I'm back to my confused self again! great! :(

[shazi11]

just great!....oh man I was like 100% sure of going down there ...now talking to u and listen to u, thanks to u....I'm back to my confused self again! great! :(

its not my intentions to confuse you but i just thought everyone going there should be aware of how it really is...not many people will tell you the truth.

[MDhero]

dont you think each school in pakistan is diferent? maybe there are some medical colleges in pakistan with poor facilities and environment, but there are others that are really good. pakistan is a huge country with different provinces and schools, not everything in one province is the same in another province. if you're worried about the hot weather, go to khyber medical college in peshawar..i know peshawar can get real cold. if you're worried about professor not liking foreign students, go to agha kahan or king edward. do research on each school and visit the school before you make your decision. shazi, not all places in pakistan are the same.

[sara00]

Your absolutly right MDHero, I mean different pakistani med schools have different environments for example Karachi is not the same as Lahore and vise versa, so I guess it all depends on the medical school where you want to go to. Some are really good, others not as good. But like Shazi said one needs to be strong enough to deal with the change.

[RehanSAlvi]

If you're looking for a Pakistani medical school which has lots of American students and is located in Islamabad, where the culture shock is much less than that of Lahore or Karachi, you should definitely check out Shifa Medical at http://www.shifacollege.edu or just IM me on AIM at NeuroCide5 if you have any questions about it. I'm a 3rd year student from California currently attending Shifa.

[ubaidrkhan23]

Things are getting a bit testy in here huh?

Anyways, does anyone have or know where to get the new prospectus to DOW?
i'm foreigner by the way.

[pakigirl]

well for all u ppl in this forum who r planning to come to pakistan for mbbs..i,ll tell u one thing..never listen to ppl who say u can pass without studyin and stuff.i am a graduate from king edward got 98 on step 1,,and med school in pak is tough..so keep that in yr mind..and as for conditions..u r comin to a third world country..what do u expect???yr parents might have been born here..they survived ..so will u...

[at2342]

Great info by everyone

I am a U.S. high school grad and pakistani born looking to get into paki
med school. Can someone going thru the same process outline the steps I have to take? deadlines, etc

Should I take the SAT 1 and SAT II?

[sara00]

well for all u ppl in this forum who r planning to come to pakistan for mbbs..i,ll tell u one thing..never listen to ppl who say u can pass without studyin and stuff.i am a graduate from king edward got 98 on step 1,,and med school in pak is tough..so keep that in yr mind..and as for conditions..u r comin to a third world country..what do u expect???yr parents might have been born here..they survived ..so will u...

I agree....just need the passion to become a doctor....then u'll survive through anything!..... :wink:

[ayesha_87]

If you're looking for a Pakistani medical school which has lots of American students and is located in Islamabad, where the culture shock is much less than that of Lahore or Karachi, you should definitely check out Shifa Medical at http://www.shifacollege.edu or just IM me on AIM at NeuroCide5 if you have any questions about it. I'm a 3rd year student from California currently attending Shifa.

I am thinking of studying medicine in Shifa....how is the teaching there? How would u grade it? How is the entrance test? Can u please guide me.

Jazakalluh

[ahsa]

Shifa college is also eligible for PLAB exam. You may visit this link for info about PLAB: www.plabwise.co.uk

[ayesha_87]

Shifa college is also eligible for PLAB exam. You may visit this link for info about PLAB: www.plabwise.co.uk

Is this PLAb thing for ppl wanting to work in the UK?? cos i already hold a british passport...but after completing medicine in pak i wud like to sit the exam here and become a junior doctor.
r u a student at shifa college?

thankx

[itzme]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and looking for some honest answers. I just finished my first year of university in the US and am looking into applying to Medical Schools in Pakistan. Is there anyone out there who has been a student in the US and went to Pakistan for Medical School? I'm looking for advice on what to look out for and how the admission process is. I have grown up in the US so I know there is a lot of adjusting invovled and I am prepared for that. Some questions I have are why did you chose to go to Pakistan? Did you go after high school or after four years of university? or a year or two after university? why did you chose the School you are in ? what is your experience ? Did you chose Private? Public? Lahore? Islamabad? I've heard got things about Baqai, how is Shifa? Shifa is fairly new (Dec 1998) King Edward? Fatimah Jinnah? This is obviously a big decision for me and I just what to hear from someone who has had a person experience Thanks. :D

[fuzpot]

Hi, im in same position to you ( im in the UK). Just finished my bachelors in Biology at univerisity. Medicine is too competitive to gain admission in the UK. From what ive heard Baqai, aga khan ,Dow and King edward are the best. I want to go karachi ( cousins etc live there). But I have no credible info about life as a student- from a UK/USA paki point of view.

[ayesha_87]

[quote="RehanSAlvi"]Hi,

I'm a US Citizen (born and raised in California) who's a 3rd year at the Shifa College of Medicine in Islamabad. I've found it to be an overall wonderful experience and would readily recommend Shifa to other Americans seeking to become a doctor via the Pakistan route.

As far as electives are concerned, Shifa students have done electives everywhere from the top universities in the US to Pakistani places as well (mostly Aga Khan's hospital).

If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on AIM at NeuroCide5.

HEY can u give me some info abt shifa...teaching??? i meet the grade requirements Alhamdulilah....How r the teachers?? extra curricular activities? hostels? etc
PLEASE REPLY ASAP.
thankx

[ubaidrkhan23]

Sup,
So youve already done one year of coll so u have 7 more yrs left, whereas u would have 5 yrs in pak but u also have to consider USMLE and application time to come to US which will take atleast a year, so your saving anywhere from 1-0 yrs as a foreign grad. Also u can always go to a good skool in the carrib which is better then going to skool in pak since last 2 yrs of med skool in carrib is clinicals in the US and all your studies are US format so USMLE will be given while your in med skool, not afterwards.
Still pak is a good, cheap, and depending on how fast u take MLE's it could save u time.
THink hard on this but u gotta make a decision soon cuz admission is going to starting soon.

See ya

[Y1115]

Hi I'm a high school senior from New Jersey. I was planning on going to Rutgers University and majoring in Business Management but then had a sudden change of plans. I want to go to Pakistan for med school but I am completely lost on how to go about it. I have checked out the websites for some colleges but they're all so confusing and they don't give you instructions on how to apply and all that. I called my grandparents in Pakistan last night and they said I should try for Dow and Agha Khan. I don't know if I'm too late and if I have missed the deadline for applications. I was also thinking of Baqai. If someone can give me any information on how to apply and all the steps for a student from the US going to Pakistan, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

[at2341]

In response to the last post:

I am in the same position as you. Basically you have to take the SAT II subject exams in bio chem and physics as the entry test. Then go to Islamabad to get an equivalency of your high school grades. Then you can apply as a foreign student to pakistani colleges.

I do have one question of my own. Can foreign students take the entry test instead of the SAT II and still be in the pool of foreign students?
Can one student be in both the pakistani, and foreign student pool if you take both tests? (ie give yourself more chances of getting in)

[ubaidrkhan23]

U can apply as a pakastani and foreign aplicant....... if u know the rite ppl :wink:
pretty sure they'll take u in as foreign though so no need to worry :D ...just tell them tht line from Jerry Maguire "show me the money" 8) Actually they'll be saying tht to u but u get my point.

[at2341]

TO UBAIDRKHAN

I am planning to apply to shifa college because of the number of american high schoolers that go there. Can I apply right now? What about the punjabi government colleges. When is the admission packet for them available.

[ubaidrkhan23]

U can apply to shifa college up till october, their website has alot of info on the whole application process..... Gov colleges usually require a standard application which allows u to apply to all gov colleges with one applictaion, hopefully that is still the case. Applications can be found at the pak med skool website: search in the past scarps cuz i know it was mentioned before or Sara00 knows where to get them i think.
BYe

[Y1115]

do you have to take the sat II's? or is it ok if you just took the sat I?

[at2341]

any other private colleges other than shifa and aku that are accredited by who and faimer? THese are the only two i've heard of

[sara00]

To apply to gov med school, there's no test requirement such as SATs...well thats the Canadian way I'm not too sure about the American way maybe ubaidrkhan23 might know something. The main thing they look at are ur high school marks, and depending on that they give u admission. Also for the application no matter where u live in this world just call the pakistani embassy in ur area and ask them. Thats what I did....

[ubaidrkhan23]

Generally Sat's are not a requirement except for AKU and i guess shifa from wht i hear in the past posts. So HS grades, and they have to see if u have taken basic level sci courses-bio chem phy, is wat counts. Also others might require some connections for u to get in...so call your rich uncle up in pak if u have one :wink:....

by the way, i'm serious abt the last comment, get as much help as u can cuz these gov skools will screw u over no matter how many A's u got in HS.

[at2341]

Has anyone already done their grades/marks equivalency in Pakistan thru the IBCC in islamabad? I've heard that foreign students really get screwed in equivalency. Your grades really get marked down alot if you are american. Does any one know anything about this.

[sara00]

oohh man! need to find someone rich now... someone who owns like a big corporation :wink: ...... and about the equivalence of marks...well all I know is that it takes a pretty long time for this process... about 3-4 weeks! I have to send mine too...very soon....

[ayesha_87]

WHO HERE ATTENDS SHIFA MEDICAL COLLEGE? i want to apply there...plz reply ASAP....need info quickly...thankx..i live in the UK.

[RehanSAlvi]

Hey, I go to Shifa. I can give you information about it if you message me on AIM at NeuroCide5.

[ayesha_87]

Hey, I go to Shifa. I can give you information about it if you message me on AIM at NeuroCide5.

HEYyy whats AIM at NeuroCide5...can u klet me know what that is.......cos i have a lot of questions...Jazakallah

[ayesha_87]

Hey, I go to Shifa. I can give you information about it if you message me on AIM at NeuroCide5.

HEYyy whats AIM at NeuroCide5...can u klet me know what that is.......cos i have a lot of questions...Jazakallah

I ll ask the questions now....whats the teaching like? cos its quite new...how wud u grade it?
what r the hostels like?
r the lecturers friendly and approacable?
do i have to sit in the entry test too? i live in the UK tho.

thankx a lot.

[Y1115]

i heard that you don't need to send your grades to islamabad if you're applying to baqai because they do it right there.

[Y1115]

can anyone tell me how much baqai costs both for local students and foreigners?

[at2341]

Just learned of ayub medical in NWFP. anybody know anything about it? I emailed them and they said that I don't even have to take the SAT II. Anybody care to rank top 5-10 medical colleges in Pakistan?
1)AKU
2)DOW
3)KEMC
it seems to get blurry from here, where does shifa rank?

[ayesha_87]

Hey, I go to Shifa. I can give you information about it if you message me on AIM at NeuroCide5.

HEYyy whats AIM at NeuroCide5...can u klet me know what that is.......cos i have a lot of questions...Jazakallah

I ll ask the questions now....whats the teaching like? cos its quite new...how wud u grade it?
what r the hostels like?
r the lecturers friendly and approacable?
do i have to sit in the entry test too? i live in the UK tho.

thankx a lot.

[RehanSAlvi]

Ayesha, Salaam.

Let me try to answer your questions in as organized of a fashion as I can...

The teaching at Shifa is pretty similar to the curriculum used by the rest of Pakistan's government medical colleges, however, because Shifa is private and has more money at its disposal it has nicer facilities, more technology being used in the classroom, and better lab equipment.

Shifa is relatively new, this being its 7th year of operation but if you look at its track record, it is fairly successful. It has already been recognized by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Counci (PM&DC) and has also been recognized by the W.H.O. Basically what this means is that if you graduate from Shifa you are eligible to take the exams which allow you to ultimately practice in the United States or the UK.

As far as hostels go, I am not too sure about the quality of the female hostels, however the male hostels are nothing to get excited about. I lived in the male hostels for about 8 months before I moved out since they definitely were not acceptable quality. Basically the Shifa hostels are not on the Shifa campus but instead are just homes nearby the college that are put out on rent, which Shifa has rented and turned into a hostel. However quite a few American students such as myself have moved out of the hostels and just rented flats which are not too expensive. (You can find some pictures of what our flat looks like at http://rehanalvi.com/gallery/ if you're interested).

The lecturers in the basic sciences (the first two years) are somewhat tougher than those in the clinical sciences (years 3, 4, and 5) but still most of the professors are very nice and approachable. Once you get past the first two years, almost all of the doctors you interact with hold either American or UK medical degrees and are very highly qualified in their respective fields, and are also very approachable. In fact most of the consultants at Shifa International Hospital (the hospital right next to the college) are American board or UK board certified.

As far as the entry test is concerned, I believe you have the option of either taking the SAT II Subject Tests in physics, chemistry and biology or the option of sitting in the entry test. I would honestly recommend try taking the SAT Subject Tests as the competition in the entry test is pretty tough. I believe last year over 1100 applicants gave the entry test for approximately 65 seats. Shifa tends to favor American applicants over local ones, and since you're from the UK, I believe you too will have a good chance of getting in.

I hope this has helped. Sorry for the late reply but I don't really check these forums all too often. The quickest way to get ahold of me is directly by my website http://rehanalvi.com or by downloading AIM (America Online Instant Messenger at http://www.aim.com) and messaging me on NeuroCide5. AIM is really the fastest way to get ahold of me.

Well, best of luck to you and whichever path you decide to choose.

Wasalaam,

Rehan

[ubaidrkhan23]

What is the requirement on the SAT II's....if there is none then whts the typical score to have to get in.
Thanks

[ubaidrkhan23]

Anyone know if they have released the new DOW admission application and if so then how i can get it.
Thanks

[at2341]

For Shifa, you have to get a 650/800 in two of the three exams you take, bio chem physics. Anybody else know the minimum requirements for other colleges in pakistan like the government colleges?

I am also wondering if people are allowed to take the entry test in addition to the SAT if they feel they didn't do too hot on the SAT II.

Anybody know any american pakistani who got rejected by the government colleges. It would seem to me that if you have the money, you can go at least to a government college?

[sara00]

hmm....DOW is also included in the application for all governement med school, well I have that on my application....dont u have the same application too? :?
....same here didnt hear about any rejections so far from foreign students....which is really really good :D ...I really hope we all make it! :)

[ubaidrkhan23]

I thought Dow was private now, i knew they were on the gov application past years but it would make sense for them to have their own application now. I'm not sure where to get the new gov application, if anyone knows let me know.
Thanks

[sara00]

Dow is private now....ooooh I didnt know that...I guess they didnt update the aaplication with all the govenment med schools cuz some how its mentioned in my application....maybe u can just e-mail them on their website to provide u with their application....
By the way did anyone send in their marks for equivalence yet?? Is it only marks from last year of high school or they need a transcript of all ur high school marks too?....let me know any one....

Thank you,

Sara

[ubaidrkhan23]

Well if it was only that easy if i could just email them and find out....I've emailed them several times in the past year, no one ever replies:( and Dows new website dosent even have link for admissions.

[RehanSAlvi]

You need to submit an original of your entire high school transcript showing all four years. Also, you need to have taken 4 years of English, plus one year of chemistry, physics, and biology also during high school. The website for the agency that does the conversion of your grades to Pakistani "marks" is here: http://www.ibcc.edu.pk/default.asp

The website is pretty lame, but then again, this is good ol' Pakistan. Hope this helps.

[sara00]

Thank you soo much friend...... :)

[ash786]

hi could anyone please tell me whats the medical school entrance exam test date for 2005, thanks

[sidra]

I am canadian and also thinking of attending a medical college in Pakistan... more preferably in Karachi since most of my cousins reside there. I'm thinking of going to Dow; however, I'm having a hard time finding the prospectus and the application form. WOuld getting an admission to dow college be hard for overseas pakistani/ foriegners? For those planning to attend Dow, how they are preparing for the entry test?

Sara00... since u r also a canadian canditate, i would appreciate if you can give ur input and ur prefereces of colleges in pakistan (karachi). Which colleges are you fishing for (expect Dow)? if u don't midn... contact me @
sidijee(at)yahoo(dot)ca

Can anyone tell me how Baqai and Hamdard rank? They are enlisted as "provisionally recognized" .. is that something to be concerned about?

Thanks.

[sara00]

Are u 101% sure that DOW is private now??....cuz somehow NO ONE can find the application....maybe they still follow the old process as government schools....but if they are private then they shouldnt...so now all foreign students are wondering how to apply?? ...well maybe we need to wait until august when admissions take place....

[fuzpot]

Hi, im looking for admission into a pak medical college for August/September 2006 entry. Does any1 know about king edward, lahore. Is it easy for overseas students to gain admission in pakistan?.

[ash786]

well, i was also trying to find out the application procedure n all for med schools in pakistan and my biggest concern was their entrance exams. i was also told by one of my friend in pak that hes not sure about the test date cuz they dont confirm it until all the f.s.c and A-level results come out i.e. byt he end of july and test are usually held in the mid of september somewhere, tests arent that easy so what you can do is join some academy in pakistan preferebely star academy located in lahore to prepare you for entrance exam. well this is all i know for now and as soon as i get any more info about test dates or sample exam paper ill post it here.
and yea i would also like to know where baqai and specially Hamdard rank?
thanks

[sara00]

Do foreign students have to give an enterance exam too??? I thought foreign students were evaluated just based on their marks....

[sidra]

fuzpot... as far as i know, admission to king edward can be tough due to overwhelming competition. however, i could be wrong since i'm not quite sure how foreigners would get evaluted

sara00: yes, there is an entry exam for all candidates. this is the reason why i'm concerned regarding the admission to dow college.

ash78: i'm hesitating to apply to baqai and hamdard partly because they have provisional status and partly because i don't know anyone who have graduated from these institutes. Also, ash it would be greatly appreciated if u can figure out the entry test format for dow exam.

anywayz... i would like to hear more input about baqai and hamdard univeristy and good luck to everyone who is looking for an admission to pakistani medical college...

sidra

[sara00]

oooh great enterance exam!! ...just grrreat!! sooo how hard is this enterance exam? anyone knows?? and what kind of stuff they ask?? chem, bio, phy??

Also ubaid can tell u guys more about Baquai...(ubaid where r u hidding? we need u man..lol)

now I'm more curious about the enterance exam...is it the same for ALL med schools??.....any advise would be grateful!
Thank you,

Sara

[ash786]

well heres the number of star academy which is in lahore, i cant get hold of them as their number is always busy, but if anyone could, ask them about the entrance exam format and if they sell the preperation papers or what kind of preperation classes they offer and whens the test (specific date). in the mean time im gonna try callin them again c if i could get through otherwise if any1 could please do inform us what they said. thankx. aisha

01192-42-575-9050

[ash786]

preperation courses*****

[fuzpot]

what is this converision thing in pak, they convert A level grades into pak equivalence? I have poor UK A level grades. Does that rule me out, is a BSc in Biology at all helpful?

[ayesha_87]

what is this converision thing in pak, they convert A level grades into pak equivalence? I have poor UK A level grades. Does that rule me out, is a BSc in Biology at all helpful?

they consider ure GCSE grades too....as long as it comes up to 60% or more then u shud be fine....i think....
visit this wesite dude....http://www.ibcc.edu.pk/Equivalence/equivalence.asp

and follow the procedure...as shown

[at2341]

Salaam,

The entry test is in physics, chemistry, and biology. However, I am not sure if organic chem is included in this.

I've found a website with a few sample questions for the pak entry test. I don't have the link now, but just type go the rawalpindi medical college website, click on entry test, and you will find them.

I want to get your feedback on these questions. Is it just me or are these purposely too easy?

[fuzpot]

IS IT common in pak med colleges- for ppl with contacts in the college- to get admission with out satisfying all requirements fairly!

[ubaidrkhan23]

It's less common that people who have not full filled requirements be accepted due to influences and such, not saying it dosen't happen...
I've actually heard students presently attending the best med skool AKU say they have students that have gotten in like tht.
But it is very common that qualified applicants get an edge over others who are just as qualified becuz they have "contacts". Thats how a Bureacracy works babe... get use to it if u wanna live in Pak.

P.S. Hope i didn't confuse anyone :)

[sara00]

Salam friend,
Give me the website...cuz somehow i cant find the test....then I'll let u know...thanks

Sara

[sidra]

here's the website at2341 was mentioning:

http://www.rmc.edu.pk/admissions/entrytest.shtml

if u scroll down... i believe the entry test is divided into different subjects, it's worth a look

[sidra]

yes at2341, the test seems reasonable.. but then again, it's just a sample

[at2341]

Anybody know if there is 1 admission packet per province or for all government colleges?

[sara00]

yeah thanks sidra for the website....and the quetions seem pretty straight forward to me....so I guess it wont be that bad then...all multiple choice too...that gives us 25% of getting the right answer....hopefully this year the tests are similar to this sample one....I hope...

at2341: yeah the package is for ALL government schools in pak....

[ubaidrkhan23]

Does anyone know the site i can get the 2005 application for gov skools, and if there is a diff one for every province?
Thanks

[mominbutt]

hey! its a head ache to get into paki med skool.
first go to ur country's ambassy in islamabad in paki, then processing starts they've got the forms and all! -THROUGH EXPERIENCE

[ubaidrkhan23]

hey! its a head ache to get into paki med skool.
first go to ur country's ambassy in islamabad in paki, then processing starts they've got the forms and all! -THROUGH EXPERIENCE

I have to go to paki....i'm in the US by the way, i wanted to know the website tht has the forms on there.
Thanks

[sara00]

no ...no..u dont have to go to pak in order for the process to begin....just get the application from ur near by pak embassy and they'll hook u up....on the other hand u can also go to pak like most students.....

[sara00]

heey salam,
Can someone please tell me what are the documents required for IBCC?? Besides ur transcript with all ur high school marks....do they need to see my high school diploma too?? let me know asap....
thank you

Sara

[ash786]

does any1 know which med skool is recognised by LCME and have electives arrangements with US universities. i know aga khan is one of them but since my chances of gettin in that skool is very thin i would like to know abt our government med skools, baqai, dow, hamdard and lahore medical college. thankx

[at2341]

Salaam,

The documents that you need to get conversion of grades is on the IBCC website. Here is the link: http://www.ibcc.edu.pk/Attestation.asp

[at2341]

Salaam,

I am now starting to doubt this whole idea of going to Pakistan due to the troubles of residency matching. I've heard that foreign graduates, whether U.S. citizens or not, get shafted despite USMLE scores.
Do you guys know any pakistani graduates, and the residencies they placed into, their scores, and any other difficulties they faced due to where they graduated?
One of my cousins got a extremely high (99/100) I think, and he placed into endocrinology. how competitive is that field?

[ubaidrkhan23]

Wht is the Ibcc thing for, does everyone applying to a gov coll have to do it , details abt it plz.
Thank you

[sara00]

w/salam friend,

From my point of view...
Its really hard to become a doc in US/Can...first they make u get ur bachelor for 4 years...what a waste of time!! and then based on ur marks from 4 yrs of university which needs to be extremly high...only then its possible to get into an US/Can med school!!....its too risky cuz what if ur marks are not so high then what??...u'll end up no where...(many of my friends are in this situtation right now so some decided to go to the caribbean)

But on the other hand if u go to pak, at least u'll be going straight in med school and not wasting anytime and in the end u'll become something ...right?? And then from that point on u can go live where were u want to in the world and all u gotta do is pass their test and try to get residency....yeah many pak doc got residencies in US...its not impossible....but maybe hard...the only part they tend to fail is step 2 of USMLE when they need to deal with a patient cuz its a little different in US as compare to pak method of seeing patients...thats all...

So if u think u can do it in US then stay and try here, and if u think u can't (like me..lol) then go to pak....its all up to u....Think about it,....

Sara

[at2341]

Salaam,


To Sara00: I appreciate the thoughts about my dilemma. I hope to reach a decision soon.

To Ubaidrkhan: IBCC is a board set up in the 1970's for the equivalency to grades of foreign students. It is required for admission into all government colleges. As far as I know it is required for all pakistani medical colleges.

Further I was wondering what some of you guys have already done in preparation for admissions. I know that the admission packet is not available until august but since applications are available thru embassies, I guess we can start the process sooner. There was some talk about the star academy in lahore in preparation for the entry test. Were any of you guys able to get thru to talk to someone at their phone number? What are you guys doing to prepare for the entry test?

[ubaidrkhan23]

From what i've heard foreign applicants dont have to take the admissions test since they go through a diff process for admission so whst all the talk abt the admin test for?
thanks

[sara00]

Salam at2341,

Listen my friend.... Ubaid is right there's no entry test for forgein students I asked them....all u gotta do is fill the forms and submitt them along with ur high school marks and based on ur marks depending on how high they are u'll be given admission in one of the gov med school. But if u go straight to pak and apply from there (in pak) only then u have to give an entry exam.

So its better if u complete ur application in US, that way u'll know which med school u'll be going to before going to pak....also u wont need to worry about any entry test....isn't that grrreat!!

My question to u is.....did u send ur marks in for conversion yet?? How much do we need to pay?? $75 US?? ...let me know if u know something...or anyone on this forum might know something .....(the website if not very helpful)
thank you

Allah Hafis

[ubaidrkhan23]

Whts the website address sara?
Thanks

[sara00]

Hey friend, heres the website but its not very clear on how much we need to send them ....if u can figure it out let me know....http://www.ibcc.edu.pk/Forms/form.asp
thank you

[ubaidrkhan23]

In the equivalence thing will they count honors level courses as more or the same?
And i think u pay them 70 dollars.

[sara00]

I really dont know how exactly they mark us .....so do we even need to send them our high school diploma too?? cuz I dont have mine yet I'll get mine in sept and also I dont wanna send them my original high school diploma....so far I'm just sending them my transcript and proof of identity is there anything else I need to send them??

Also they say: "Students who want to receive Equivalence Certificate at their address aboard must send a pre-paid courier service envelop." is that included with $70 US?? let me know....
thank you

[ubaidrkhan]

the 70 dollar fee is seperate form the courier thing...
Dont send your original diploma to them under any circumstance!!!!!!

[at2341]

Salaam,

I was wondering if you have to wait to get your equivalencyfrom the ibcc before you can apply to the colleges.
How much do the admission applications cost when you order them for shifa and the government colleges thru the pakistani embassy?

[sara00]

hey w/salam friend,
Yeah u need to wait for the ibcc thing before u can apply for pak med school cuz this ibcc is part of the application process. Also I dont think there is any fee for the application to gov med school cuz it doesnt say any thing on mine....the only thing that has a fee its for the ibcc.

And about shifa u can just contact Rehan, he'll be very happy to help u with anything and can guide u well for Shifa's application.

By the way u dont order the application...just go to the nearest pak embassy in YOUR AREA and they will provide u with everything or u can call them too...okay...

Allah hafis

Sara

[sam212]

w/salam friend,

From my point of view...
Its really hard to become a doc in US/Can...first they make u get ur bachelor for 4 years...what a waste of time!! and then based on ur marks from 4 yrs of university which needs to be extremly high...only then its possible to get into an US/Can med school!!....its too risky cuz what if ur marks are not so high then what??...u'll end up no where...(many of my friends are in this situtation right now so some decided to go to the caribbean)

But on the other hand if u go to pak, at least u'll be going straight in med school and not wasting anytime and in the end u'll become something ...right?? And then from that point on u can go live where were u want to in the world and all u gotta do is pass their test and try to get residency....yeah many pak doc got residencies in US...its not impossible....but maybe hard...the only part they tend to fail is step 2 of USMLE when they need to deal with a patient cuz its a little different in US as compare to pak method of seeing patients...thats all...

So if u think u can do it in US then stay and try here, and if u think u can't (like me..lol) then go to pak....its all up to u....Think about it,....

Sara

Hey Sara, nothing against your idea of going to Pakistan and getting a medical degree. However, I'd like to know why a bachelors degree is useless? In my opinion, it gives you a very well rounded education and prepares you for professional schools.
I think the US route is the best route you can take if you want to be a doc and how would you know if you haven't tried it? The common misconception is that you save a lot of time, where in fact you don't usually save any time. The reason that I am opposed to going to pakistan is that I have seen some horror stories in my family. One of my cousins graduated from DOW and passed his USMLE's the first time and couldn't get a residency for four consecutive years. Then he decided to go to an American school and did it all over. Needless to say, he is a resident at UMASS right now but 36 years of age. He was a US citizen as well. Another cousin who also graduated from DOW finally matched this year after graduating in 2001. So what I am saying is that it takes time regardless of where you go. What I'd suggest is that you take the traditional path as an undergrad and keep your grades up. If you work as hard as you would have to in Medical school in Pakistan, you'll probably ace all of your classes and get in to Med school in US. Another catch is that you don't have to major in biological sciences, you can pretty much major in anything, so you are not stuck with a degree you didn't want. I for example am a business major and if the whole med school thing doesn't work out, will be working in finance industry.
The biggest disadvantage of being an FMG is that it's almost impossible to match into any competitive fields. I know that someone will be quick to point out some pakistani doc who matched into surgery. But those are exceptions, not the rule by any means. It's getting harder and harder every year. And if you think you can't get into Med school in US or Canada, you can pretty much forget about matching into any competitive residencies with this attitude.
Sorry if it seems like I came off as an *****h0Ie, but I am just giving you the dark side of it. And of course it is almost impossible to practice in Canada, I am sure you know, as a foreign graduate. So these are somethings to consider while you make your decision. My suggestion is that never give up, try for the US schools. You will never know what it could have been if you don't try. Just my advice.

[fuzpot]

hi, if i wanted to start med college in october 2006, not this coming october. then when are the forms issued?

[ubaidrkhan]

Depends on where your applying.....like is it's to a gov college they use the same forms every year but private colleges your gonna have to wait till nex year./

[sara00]

hey there,

U know what sam212...ur right it is very hard for foreigners to get residency in US and especially in Canada (its like impossible in Canada)... but I know soo many students and most of them are my good friends who didn't make it here! And u know what they all had really good marks too... some with 3.3 GPA, even 3.7 GPA and they even did really good on the MCAT and trust me they are so smart and hard working too.... and if students like them couldnt make it…then trust me I have like absolutely no chance what so ever! Why try something u know u can't make it???

U see… if I go to pak atleast I’ll be a doctor cuz I’ll be studying in med school, and then later on I can come and compete for residency…there are about 52 states right?

But let say I do study here and do major in Chemisty. And let say I don’t make it here then what?? Work as a chemist all my life? But that’s not what I want…. :(

By the way its always really nice to hear ur opinion cuz it does make sense... I learned alot! ...but I dont know somehow studying in US seems more impossible than going to pak...:confused:

[sam212]

Hey Sara, thanks for your reply. Here's what I have to say, you should re-evaluate where you want to practice. If your goal is to practice in the US or Canada, you will have a tough road in front of you. It is certainly not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, but pretty hard. There are 50 states and each and everyone has different set of rules for FMG's. I know many people who have made it so my goal is definitely not to discourage you. My purpose of the post was to let you know that there are both upsides and downsides. One suggestion I will give you is that go to AKU. They have affiliations with several US hospitals so you can come back so clinical rotations. This will help you immensly when it's time for residency. You will have US experience and recommendation letters from US attending doctors. Good luck to you.

[ubaidrkhan]

Aku is not the only one tht has clinicals in the US.... Dow does for sure and i've heard abt others tht do as well. The clinicals u do here in the US, even if your from aku is only electives and i think it's abt a one elective limit per year so it's not like u do your core clinicals here.... And matching into competitive residencies will be difficult but getting into a residency in the whole US is not tht big of a deal, just do well on your MLE's and you'll surely get in. PLus u have to consider tht most fmg dont have us or canadian citizenship so thts a definite plus for anyone who does since any prog would not want to waste time and money over visa issues.
By the way i'm sort of divided on this FMG / US med skool thing myself...

See ya

[sam212]

Aku is not the only one tht has clinicals in the US.... Dow does for sure and i've heard abt others tht do as well. The clinicals u do here in the US, even if your from aku is only electives and i think it's abt a one elective limit per year so it's not like u do your core clinicals here.... And matching into competitive residencies will be difficult but getting into a residency in the whole US is not tht big of a deal, just do well on your MLE's and you'll surely get in. PLus u have to consider tht most fmg dont have us or canadian citizenship so thts a definite plus for anyone who does since any prog would not want to waste time and money over visa issues.
By the way i'm sort of divided on this FMG / US med skool thing myself...

See ya

I don't think DOW has the option, you can always come back on your own and ask US hospitals for rotations. But I don't think DOW is affiliated with any hospitals. At least that wasn't the case two years ago. With AKU, if you can do two or three electives in the US (they have electives at Mayo and Northwestern, both darn good medical schools) you can at least get a couple of recommendation letters and some US hospital experience. Program directors for residencies will look at it as a positive and you will most definitely get a spot if you were competing wth someone who had same scores and was an FMG but no US LORs and experience. Just my opinion.

[sara00]

Hey Sara, thanks for your reply. Here's what I have to say, you should re-evaluate where you want to practice. If your goal is to practice in the US or Canada, you will have a tough road in front of you. It is certainly not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, but pretty hard. There are 50 states and each and everyone has different set of rules for FMG's. I know many people who have made it so my goal is definitely not to discourage you. My purpose of the post was to let you know that there are both upsides and downsides. One suggestion I will give you is that go to AKU. They have affiliations with several US hospitals so you can come back so clinical rotations. This will help you immensly when it's time for residency. You will have US experience and recommendation letters from US attending doctors. Good luck to you.

hey sam212...
I know ur not disencouraging me infact... u are absolutly right!!... its gonna be hard!!!...very hard!! But AKU is too expensive! I mean for almost the same amount of money i can study in the Caribbean med schools which offers clinical rotations in US (even better!). What about med school in Lahore? like king or allama Iqbal? ...cuz thats where I was planning to go... they any good in ur opinion? let me know....

Thank you for all your good advice,

Sara

[sam212]

hey sam212...
I know ur not disencouraging me infact... u are absolutly right!!... its gonna be hard!!!...very hard!! But AKU is too expensive! I mean for almost the same amount of money i can study in the Caribbean med schools which offers clinical rotations in US (even better!). What about med school in Lahore? like king or allama Iqbal? ...cuz thats where I was planning to go... they any good in ur opinion? let me know....

Thank you for all your good advice,

Sara

King Edward used to be the best medical school in pakistan before the arrival of AKU. It's still the most renowned school in pakistan. I don't know very much about Allama.

[ubaidrkhan]

U dont have to be affiliated with a hospital to do elective rotaions there...and i havent heard AKU students going back on there own to do cliniclas but if u could do it for Aku then surely other med skool students can aswell(DOW can for sure, i know three ppl who are coming for roations here this year) as long as u can fit it in your schedule. Of course AKU does have affiliation with great med skools which means AKU students can easily get into clinical rotaions but there is a limitation to how many they can take...AKu student told me they are allowed to take abt one elective per year for there last 2 years. BY the way, although it's alot of money, one can argue it's still worth it but its dman hard to get in so study up ALOT for those SAT's if u want any shot.
BYe

[sara00]

U guys keep talking about karachi schools!!....what about lahore's med school u think King might have clinical rotations in US too??

let me know if anyone know anything....thank you

Sara

[at2341]

To Ubaid:
What are the minimum SAT II scores for eligibility?
What range of SAT II scores are considered competitive?I just got my SAT II scores and I want to know where I stand

[ubaidrkhan]

Min SAT II scores are 700.... for eligibility u just need to get as high as u can cuz they dont have many seats open for foreigners so t's very competitive...
GOOd luck

[at2341]

What is the reputation of shifa medical college. Where does it rank with Aku, dow, and kemc?

[ubaidrkhan]

1.AKU
2.DOw
3.KEMC/Private colleges shifa being one of them.. although from what i hear shifa is probably the best in private sector.

[faisal_786]

Hello everyone....
I just wanted to know if anyone knows anything abt Shifa college of Medicine. Does anyone knows whats the USMLE pass rate ...?? I mean after studying in that cirrculum will be easy to pass the USMLE exam ???
I have also heard that its standard is comparable to US.. I wanted to know wether that really is or not......
I will really appreciate anyone's help.
Thanx

[kanwal]

hey anybody here from KMDC pakistan ..i want to know how to make Dean's letter from there

my email is kanwal179@yahoo.com

[ubaidrkhan]

Shifa is a new college so noo real idea of pass rates...and actually u cant relly get any accurate pass rates on USMLE for any med college in pak other than AKU of course.

[faisal_786]

Mr.ubaidrkhan,
In response to a post of mine you sent the following reply :
"Shifa is a new college so noo real idea of pass rates...and actually u cant relly get any accurate pass rates on USMLE for any med college in pak other than AKU of course."
I just wanted to know that you meant that from Shifa one cannot have as good scores as from AKU or u meant to say that the data for USMLE pass rate for medical colleges except AKU cannot be found accuraretly....???

[faisal_786]

Mr.ubaidrkhan,
In a reply to me u sent the following reply :
"Shifa is a new college so noo real idea of pass rates...and actually u cant relly get any accurate pass rates on USMLE for any med college in pak other than AKU of course."
I just wanted to know that wether u mean to say that by studying in shifa one cannot score as good as from AKU or u meant to say that the accurate data for USMLE pass rate for other medical colleges colleges...?

[fuzpot]

hey, is there a college called ' lahore med and dent college', if so, what is it like?. Im in the UK ( UK paki), failed to get a place here, so im lookin at pakistan as an option. I would love to go to King edward- any1 know if there are many overseas paki applications to KE.

[ubaidrkhan]

Actually i meant that shifa is a new college open only since 98' so only a few classes have actually graduated from there, so it would be hard to get a good idea of pass rates for that skool. And there is no real stat on any pak colleges USMLE pass rates....if u see any it's just **, plus not all student who grad from pak med take USMLE or any other foreign examination for that matter, so relly it's just here say your basing it on. And on the topic of AKU, chances are your get a better score if your from AKU cuz they are known as one of the best med skools in south asia... but tht doesnt mean u cant get a good score from other skools, i know ppl who have gotten 90-99's.
See ya

[sara00]

hmm.... just because someone graduated from AKU that doesn't mean they are most likely going to do really good on the USMLE.... it all depends on ur self how well YOU study!!! I mean u can graduate from the worst med school in this world and still do very good on USMLE!...there's no magic in AKU...it's good as any other med schools yeah maybe better than some.... ;)

[ubaidrkhan]

keep scrolling

[ubaidrkhan]

ACtually AKU is the best one by FAR in pak. Most their grads go abroad for resdidency where as avg pak med skool most dont. AKU is recognized all over the world-why? money plus their cirriculum is comparable to US skools so there actually able to have associations with baylor and even hardvard. Associations as in bunch of there students make it in clinclas and residency in those porgs. I'm not saying nor did i ever say u cant get a good score is u go to other skool it's just tht your chances are much more if u go to AKU, and thts the point of going to a good skool so that u have a better chance of success otherwise who would care what coll they went to if it was all gonna be the same either way. Their grads dont need year(s) gettin through with mle's ive heard ppl get throught with all of it in the summer after they grad.AKu students pay a carp load more too, that should hint u on somethin. AKU has no magic stick but if you were able to grad from their than u should have no problem with MLE.
P.S. all of the above info is from ppl who have actually went or presently attend to AKU.

[ash786]

hey guys its almost the end of july and supposingly the test dates and their preperation packages should be out by now, so whoever knows abt it please be kind enough to post the information regarding these test packages and dont forgot to post the specific test dates! thanx

[sara00]

ACtually AKU is the best one by FAR in pak. Most their grads go abroad for resdidency where as avg pak med skool most dont. AKU is recognized all over the world-why? money plus their cirriculum is comparable to US skools so there actually able to have associations with baylor and even hardvard. Associations as in bunch of there students make it in clinclas and residency in those porgs. I'm not saying nor did i ever say u cant get a good score is u go to other skool it's just tht your chances are much more if u go to AKU, and thts the point of going to a good skool so that u have a better chance of success otherwise who would care what coll they went to if it was all gonna be the same either way. Their grads dont need year(s) gettin through with mle's ive heard ppl get throught with all of it in the summer after they grad.AKu students pay a carp load more too, that should hint u on somethin. AKU has no magic stick but if you were able to grad from their than u should have no problem with MLE.
P.S. all of the above info is from ppl who have actually went or presently attend to AKU.

Heey there,

We ALL know AKU is Pakistan’s BEST med school….but all I was trying to say is that a student shouldn’t think that just cuz they might be going to the best med school they will end up doing grrreat on USMLE….like I said it depends on every individual on how much hard work and effort the student puts in studying.

The main reason a school becomes a good school is when majority of its students are smart and hard working. But keep one thing in mind, the field of medicine DOES NOT changes from one country to another nor from one school to another and as a result, if a student does end up going to the worst med school…by working hard that student is able to do good on the USMLE as good as any medical student!

Also no matter what med school outside North America students graduate from…in the end everyone is EQUALLY consider as a foreign doctor… right? But the only good thing about AKU I see so far is that since it has clinical rotations in US that can increase the chances of getting residency…so that’s really good if someone is planning to go there….:)

Sara

[ubaidrkhan]

Actually some schools which arent AKU caliber might not even cover everything required to know for MLE....true story my bro who went to baquai did not even cover all the material on one of the sections for MLE part 1 and so the his grade suffered in that category otherwise is he would of had a like 98-99 instead of 92. He did great on all other categories by the way- so actually i would say you are wrong on the point about having an equal shot no matter wht coll u go to, thats just absurd. Of course most imp thing is hard work!(thats understood) but why would anyone care to spend 5 to 6 times as much money to go to a school that would be of the same end result. Also u admit AKU is best med school in pak- do u think thats only becuz of having clinicals in U.S.(and also why do u think they are able to have clinicals abroad), u can do clincals abroad in other schools like DOW, it's just that AKU students can do them 4&5 th yr instead of the DOW students who are only able to get into them 5th year.WHy? My cousin in DOW 4th yr just got refused for clincals becuz they told her that the curriculum she had covered thus far at DOW had not prepared her enough for the clincals but she would be able to do it 5th yr (and this is for one of the best med skool in pak). So relly AKU does have a much more advanced curriculum otherwise they would not be able to send their student for clincals in baylor and such in 4th yr. I'm not trying to advertise for AKU or anything (they relly dont need much advertising) just trying to make the point that all pak grads are not equal, for example one would be better of going to a school like DOw or KEMC rather then some unknown private college.Also it is known that AKu grads have like 100% pass rate at mle, i kow that proably isn't entirely true but it does hint u on the success rate, and we all know abt all those who have graduated from other med skool and end up spending yrs trying to their mle's.

NO hard feeling i hope, I was just trying to make a point.

[sara00]

heey friend,

...interesting....very interesting... well I guess ur right sometimes some schools might not teach students something that they should know for the USMLE... so AKU seem to be very very good with USLME then... I didn't know that.... so that's really good for any student wishing to attend there :)

Wish you all the best,

Sara

[sara00]

hey guys its almost the end of july and supposingly the test dates and their preperation packages should be out by now, so whoever knows abt it please be kind enough to post the information regarding these test packages and dont forgot to post the specific test dates! thanx

Hey ash,

I checked with the school and the prospectus for 2005-06 is not out yet... if I'll get any info I'll let u know okay...

Sara

[faisal_786]

Hi eveeyone,
I just wanted to know that is there any problem in getting residency if the USMLE score is good but the college from I have done MBBS is provisionally recpgnized in Pakistan ? I mean SHIFA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE.
Thanx

[ubaidrkhan]

Hi eveeyone,
I just wanted to know that is there any problem in getting residency if the USMLE score is good but the college from I have done MBBS is provisionally recpgnized in Pakistan ? I mean SHIFA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE.
Thanx

You mean the skool is provisionally recognized in the US through the ECFMG rite. Go on the IMED website to find out abt the college's whihc are. If a skool is provisionally recog than firstly you have to find out what those provisions are, also there are some skools which are temporarily approved as well. So as long as you complete the requirements or graduate during the time it still approved there should be no problem in getting residency or licensure. Also you sould look up the individual states licensure requirement to get an idea of how many states if any you can't get licensure and residency to. I am not aware abt Shifa being approved "provisionally", plz let let me know where you got this info.

See ya

[fuzpot]

hey, does any1 one know when admissions package for king edward comes out, if i havent done that IBCC stuff yet, is it too late to apply for this year?

[faisal_786]

You mean the skool is provisionally recognized in the US through the ECFMG rite. Go on the IMED website to find out abt the college's whihc are. If a skool is provisionally recog than firstly you have to find out what those provi